Socialist Fightback Students

On Wednesday, May 9, about 45 Socialist Fightback Students activists from across Southern Ontario played a prominent role in the “Racists Aren’t Welcome Here” rally at Wilfrid Laurier University. The rally was held in response to repeated attempts by Lindsay Shepherd and the Laurier Society for Open Inquiry (LSOI) to invite far-right speakers to the campus.

On May 1, 2018, the York University Board of Governors held its 458th meeting. This was held amidst the ongoing strike by CUPE 3903 at York University, which is now in its tenth week. The administration and board of governors have come under fire for their conduct during the strike. They have refused to bargain with the union, meeting with them only once so far throughout the strike. This has resulted in an effective lockout of the union, with the administration dragging out the struggle in hopes of starving out the union. The delay in resolving the strike has led to frustration among students, teachers, and workers on campus.

The University of Waterloo boasts that it has the most reputable co-op program in Canada, forming a foundation for many of its programs and boasting a “high success rate.” However, the program has come under scrutiny recently as the co-op fees were again raised at the beginning of the school year. This has caused a backlash, with an online petition and posters critical of the program appearing across campus. We need to end the exploitative nature of co-op placements, end all ancillary fees, and institute free education for all students.

On May 1, an outdoor May Day celebration was organized in the Kitchener-Waterloo area at Victoria Park. This celebration of working class struggle and solidarity is an important tradition where different trends within the workers’ movement come together in the spirit of internationalism and class struggle against the capitalists. It is celebrated every year across the globe.

Socialist Fightback Students (SFS) co-organized a rally at York University with the York Federation of Students (YFS), which is the student union representing the university's 50,000 undergraduates. Given that it is exam season, it is impressive that over 100 students came out to fight for a full tuition refund, free education, and very importantly, to support striking university workers.